Hyundai wins tanker order

Hyundai wins tanker order

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): South Korea's Hyundai Group signed a deal
yesterday with Malaysian International Shipping Corp. Bhd. (MISC)
to build two tankers at US$40 million each to boost pal oil
shipments.

The 30,000-deadweight-ton vessels will increase MISC's fleet
of tankers to 11 and help the state-owned shipping firm ferry 15-
to-20 percent of Malaysia's palm oil output, company officials
said.

Malaysia exported 7.4 million tons of crude palm oil last year
and is expected to ship 7.8 million tons this year, making it the
world's largest producer of the commodity.

"With the expected increase in palm oil production, we
probably would add more vessels in the future," MISC managing
director Ariffin Alias told reporters after signing up Hyundai
Corp. and Hyundai Heavy Industries Ltd. to construct the tankers.

Ariffin said the two tankers would be delivered by March 1997
and used to ferry palm oil and chemicals from Malaysia to the
Indian subcontinent, Red Sea ports and Europe.